Jason Falinski
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Jason George Falinski (born 24 August 1970) is a former Australian
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
politician. He was first elected as the Member for Mackellar in the
Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members of the ...
at the
2016 Australian election The 2016 Australian federal election was a double dissolution election held on Saturday 2 July to elect all 226 members of the 45th Parliament of Australia, after an extended eight-week official campaign period. It was the first double dissol ...
and was re-elected at the
2019 Australian election The 2019 Australian federal election was held on Saturday 18 May 2019 to elect members of the 46th Parliament of Australia. The election had been called following the dissolution of the 45th Parliament as elected at the 2016 double dissolut ...
. He lost his re-election bid in the
2022 Australian federal election The 2022 Australian federal election was held on Saturday 21 May 2022 to elect members of the 47th Parliament of Australia. The incumbent Liberal/National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, sought to win a fourth conse ...
to independent candidate
Sophie Scamps Sophie Anna Rebecca Scamps (born 15 March 1971) is an Australian independent politician, general practitioner, and former athlete. In the 2022 Australian federal election, she was elected as the Member for Mackellar in the Australian House of ...
. During his time in office, Falinski served as Chair of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, and the Standing Committee on Tax and Revenue.


Early life and career

Falinski was born on 24 August 1970 in
Manly, New South Wales Manly is a beach-side suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is north-east of the Sydney central business district and is currently one of the three administrative centres of the Local government in Australia ...
. He is the oldest of four children born to Jill () and Stanley Falinski. His father was born in Soviet Kyrgyzstan to Jewish parents originally from Poland and Russia, who had been subject to Soviet population transfers during World War II. His father's family immigrated to Australia from Poland in 1958 to escape post-war antisemitism. Falinski's father was a co-founder and managing director of computer retailer
Osborne Osborne may refer to: * Osborne (name) Places Australia * Osborne, South Australia (disambiguation), places associated with the suburb in the Adelaide metropolitan area * Osborne, New South Wales, a rural community in the Riverina region Can ...
, until its collapse in 1995. On his mother's side, he has English and Irish heritage. He attended
Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview Saint Ignatius' College Riverview is an Australian independent single-sex primary and secondary day and boarding school for boys, conducted in the Jesuit tradition, located in Riverview, a small suburb located on the Lane Cove River on the ...
, then graduated from the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...
with a Bachelor of Agricultural Economics. He later completed an MBA at the
Australian Graduate School of Management The Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM @ UNSW Business School) is a postgraduate management and business school that is part of the UNSW Business School at the University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), in Sydney, New South Wales, A ...
at
UNSW Sydney The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...
. Falinski was President of the New South Wales branch of the Young Liberals in 1994–1995, and served as the Vice-President, in 1996–1996, and President, in 1997–1998, of the Australian Young Liberals. Falinski worked as an adviser to former Liberal leaders
John Hewson John Robert Hewson AM (born 28 October 1946) is an Australian former politician who served as leader of the Liberal Party from 1990 to 1994. He led the Liberal-National Coalition to defeat at the 1993 Australian federal election. Hewson was ...
and
Barry O'Farrell Barry Robert O'Farrell (born 24 May 1959) is a former Australian politician who has been Australia's High Commissioner to India and non-resident Ambassador to Bhutan since May 2020. O'Farrell was the 43rd Premier of New South Wales and Minis ...
, and was a spokesperson for the
Australian Republican Movement The Australian Republic Movement (ARM) is a non-party-partisan organisation campaigning for Australia to become a republic. ARM and its supporters have promoted various models of a republic including parliamentary republic and it is, again, revi ...
. Falinski worked in corporate affairs for Credit Union Services Corporation Limited, and in Strategy and M&A for IAG before setting up his own company, CareWell Health, in 2005.


Local Government

Falinski was elected to
Warringah Council Warringah Council was a local government area in the northern beaches region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It was proclaimed on 7 March 1906 as the Warringah Shire Council, and became "Warringah Council" in 1993. In 19 ...
in September 2008 as a Councillor for A Ward.


Parliamentary Career

In April 2016, Falinski won an internal Liberal Party preselection in the seat of Mackellar defeating the then incumbent member,
Bronwyn Bishop Bronwyn Kathleen Bishop (née Setright; born 19 October 1942) is an Australian former politician. She was a member of federal parliament for almost 30 years, the longest period of service by a woman. A member of the Liberal Party, she was a mi ...
. This meant Falinski would go on to be the Liberal Party of Australia's candidate for the seat at the
2016 Australian election The 2016 Australian federal election was a double dissolution election held on Saturday 2 July to elect all 226 members of the 45th Parliament of Australia, after an extended eight-week official campaign period. It was the first double dissol ...
where he was subsequently elected. Falinski was re-elected for a second term at the
2019 Australian election The 2019 Australian federal election was held on Saturday 18 May 2019 to elect members of the 46th Parliament of Australia. The election had been called following the dissolution of the 45th Parliament as elected at the 2016 double dissolut ...
, however he was unsuccessful in his re-election bid in the
2022 Australian election The 2022 Australian federal election was held on Saturday 21 May 2022 to elect members of the 47th Parliament of Australia. The incumbent Liberal/National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, sought to win a fourth conse ...
. Falinski is a member of the Moderate/Modern Liberal faction of the Liberal Party.


Economy

Falinski has called for reform of the
Australian Tax Office The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is an Australian statutory agency and the principal revenue collection body for the Australian Government. The ATO has responsibility for administering the Australian federal taxation system, superannuati ...
, stating that the onus of proof should lie with the ATO, not the taxpayer, in relation to allegations of fraud or evasion. He has also called for the introduction of a taxpayer bill of rights, and to empower the tax ombudsman with powers similar to the taxpayer advocate service in the US. In his capacity as Chair of the Standing Committee on Economics, Falinski has called for the introduction of legislation which would require asset managers, including super funds and index funds, publish shareholder voting decisions to ensure they do not use proxy advisers to collude at shareholder meetings. The committee also recommended that mechanisms be put in place to ensure asset managers engage with their members when making voting decisions, and to require proxy advisers to hold a broader financial service licence than is currently the case. Falinski supports the development of Australia's retail corporate bond market, noting that Australia's market had been held back by regulatory failure and institutional obstructionism. The Standing Committee on Tax and Revenue noted that the Australian market had less depth, breadth and liquidity than the same market in New Zealand, even though the latter’s capital markets and savings pool are much smaller. Falinski supports innovation-focussed reform, having chaired an Inquiry into the tax treatment of employee share schemes. In 2021, the Inquiry recommended reforms which were accepted by then Treasurer,
Josh Frydenberg Joshua Anthony Frydenberg () (born 17 July 1971) is an Australian former politician who served as the treasurer of Australia and deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 2018 to 2022. He also served as a member of parliament (MP) for the divisio ...
, including legislative changes which would allow an employee to leave their job without facing a large tax bill on shares they had been issued. These reforms were welcomed and warmly received by industry groups.


Transport

Falinski has indicated his support for proposals to extend a metro line from Chatswood to
Frenchs Forest Frenchs Forest (pron. frenches) is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Frenchs Forest is 13 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Northern Beaches Cou ...
to combat congestion on the Northern Beaches. Falinski is an enthusiastic supporter of the Beaches Link Tunnel, and has expressed his disappointment at delays to the project due to lacklustre funding commitments from the
NSW State Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the States and territories of Australia, Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party o ...
following the resignation of
Gladys Berejiklian Gladys Berejiklian (born 22 September 1970) is an Australian former politician who served as the 45th premier of New South Wales and the leader of the New South Wales division of the Liberal Party from 2017 to 2021. Berejiklian became a member ...
. During his time as the member for Mackellar, Falinski consistently campaigned for funding to upgrade Wakehurst Parkway by widening and flood-proofing this critical arterial road. In March 2022, Falinski was successful in securing a $75 million budget commitment from the Commonwealth Government to carry out these upgrades, and this commitment which was matched by the NSW State Government bringing the total investment to $150 million. Following the election of the Albanese Government, the Commonwealth Government withdrew it's funding commitments in their October budget update.


Environment

In October 2021, Falinski was named as one of several moderate Liberal MPs pressuring the Morrison Government to commit to a net-zero by 2050 target in the lead up to
COP26 The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as COP26, was the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference, held at the SEC Centre in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, from 31 October to 13 November 2021. The ...
, which they ultimately succeeded in doing. Falinski was credited with hosting and convening regular zoom meetings with like-minded colleagues to discuss how they could get the Prime Minister
Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (; born 13 May 1968) is an Australian politician. He served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and as Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2018 to 2022, and is currently the member of parliament (MP) for t ...
to commit to their position. Falinski is staunchly opposed to renewal of Petroleum Exploration Permit - 11 (PEP-11) licence and introduced a notice of motion in the House of Representatives against it's renewal. Renewal of the licence, which allows for offshore drilling for gas exploration between Sydney and Newcastle, was opposed by many community groups and MPs however the decision to reject renewal required approval from the Federal and relevant State resources minister. In December 2021 the then Prime Minister Scott Morrison held a press conference indicating that the licence had been cancelled crediting Falinski's advocacy amongst others for his decision. Morrison's announcement regarding the cancellation of PEP-11 was scrutinised following the defeat of the Morrison Government at the 2022 Australian election, when it emerged the then Prime Minister had secretly had himself sworn in to multiple ministerial portfolios during the Covid-19 pandemic and used this authority to cancel the permit.


Integrity

Falinski has called for reform to political advertising laws to ensure truth in advertising laws apply to political parties and candidates. In 2019 Falinski and the Independent member for Warringah,
Zali Steggall Zali Steggall (born 16 April 1974) is an Australian politician, lawyer and former Olympic athlete. She has been independent member for Warringah since the 2019 Australian federal election when she defeated the incumbent, former Prime Minister ...
, made a joint submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters to push for truth in political advertising laws. Falinski was one of several politicians featured in Craig Reucassel's documentary on political donations and lobbying, Big Deal.


Parliamentary Diversity

In March 2021, Falinski co-authored an opinion piece with the outgoing member for Boothby,
Nicolle Flint Nicolle Jane Flint (born 15 July 1978) is an Australian politician. She was the member for Boothby in South Australia in the Australian House of Representatives from 2016 to 2022. She is a member of the Liberal Party of Australia and succeeded ...
MP, calling for the
Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party. It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Au ...
to consider adopting a candidates list, in a similar vein to the model introduced by
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
to the UK Conservatives. This proposal advocates for the administrative wing of the Liberal Party to identify and train potential candidates from a diverse range of backgrounds to improve the calibre and diversity of candidates at elections.


Controversies

In late 2017, Falinski was one of several MPs and Senators who was identified as being potentially ineligible to serve in Parliament due to being in breach of Section 44(i) of the Australian Constitution, in Falinski's case because of his Polish heritage through his father. Falinski provided legal advice indicating he did not hold Polish citizenship and was ultimately not one of the MPs or Senators who was required to resign. In 2019 Australian media reported that Falinski and other members of a taxpayer-funded government inquiry into franking credits policy may have acted inappropriately by allegedly using the inquiry as a means of soliciting donations. The incident involving Falinski centred around communications sent to super fund trustees in his electorate inviting them to attend a $25 a head function where the Liberal committee chair, Tim Wilson, was billed as the guest speaker. Also in 2019, Falinski was accused of misusing research by cherry picking statistics to justify the government imposing a drug testing policy on welfare recipients. At the 2022 election Falinski attended a joint event with the Liberal candidate for
Warringah Warringah is a name taken from the local Aboriginal word for Middle Harbour, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It may refer to: *Division of Warringah, an electoral division of the Australian House of Representatives created in 1922 *Electoral ...
, Katherine Deves, who had attracted controversy for comments describing transgender children as 'surgically mutilated and sterilised'. Police were called to the event after a man identifying himself as a volunteer for
Sophie Scamps Sophie Anna Rebecca Scamps (born 15 March 1971) is an Australian independent politician, general practitioner, and former athlete. In the 2022 Australian federal election, she was elected as the Member for Mackellar in the Australian House of ...
was charged with common assault after behaving aggressively towards Liberal volunteers.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Falinski, Jason Jewish Australian politicians Australian people of Polish-Jewish descent Australian people of Russian-Jewish descent Australian republicans Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Living people Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Mackellar New South Wales local councillors People educated at Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview Politicians from Sydney University of New South Wales alumni University of Sydney alumni 1970 births 21st-century Australian politicians